Malcolm Butler - Pro Football Rumors

Patriots Rumors: Brady, Butler, Garoppolo

March 27th, 2017 at 2:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Moments ago, Patriots owner Robert Kraft addressed the media in Phoenix, Arizona. Here’s a look at the highlights:

Apparently, Tom Brady isn’t going anywhere. “As recently as two or three days ago, he assured me that he’d be willing to play another six or seven years,” Kraft said (Twitter link via Albert Breer of The MMQB).
Kraft says that he hopes Malcolm Butler returns to the Patriots for 2017 and that the team’s intention is not to trade him (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate). Butler, a restricted free agent, has discussed contractual terms with the Saints and the two sides apparently far off. An unmatched offer sheet from the Saints would result in New Orleans’ No. 11 overall pick going to New England. Of course, that’s a steep price to pay and the Saints are reportedly unwilling to go that far to land the cornerback. The possibility of a sign-and-trade with lesser compensation could be in the cards, but right now the Pats are acting as though they want Butler back.
When asked about the possibility of trading quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Kraft deferred that decision to coach Bill Belichick (Twitter link via Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald).

Extra Points: Kaepernick, Butler, Panthers, Ravens

March 25th, 2017 at 12:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL…

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News believes the Jets haven’t pursued quarterback Colin Kaepernick because he doesn’t fit their offensive system. If the team preferred a backup who can fit their scheme, Mehta believes the Jets would be better re-signing Geno Smith. Ultimately, the writer believes Kaepernick would be a good fit with the Seahawks, but the organization hasn’t expressed any interest in the signal-caller.
There has been “momentum” regarding a Malcolm Butler-to-Saints trade, and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com believes the deal will ultimately happen. The pundit says the Saints and Patriots “are motivated to make it happen,” and it will be a matter of New Orleans meeting New England’s price for the deal to be finalized.
The Panthers essentially moved up eight spots when they dealt defensive end Kony Ealy to the Patriots, and general manager Dave Gettleman was perfectly happy with making that move. “It’s a heavy draft and it was an opportunity for us to move up. To you guys, eight spots doesn’t seem like much. But to me, it’s gold,” he said (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). “You’ve got to give up something to get something. You’re not fooling anybody anymore. There’s too much film available. We just wanted to move up and get another second-round pick. I think it gives us more flexibility.”
Former NFL executive Mike Lombardi says the Ravens could look to trade defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. “I think Jernigan is a fabulous player, but they can’t afford to sign him,” Lombardi said (via ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley). The organization recently made Brandon Williams the highest-paid nose tackle in the NFL, and they also have Michael Pierce, Carl Davis and Willie Henry competing for playing time.

Butler, Saints “Not Far Apart” On Offer?

March 20th, 2017 at 7:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Malcolm Butler‘s camp and the Saints continue to exchange proposals about a potential offer sheet for the fourth-year cornerback. The sides at this point are not far apart on terms, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

The communication is unfolding entirely between the Saints and Butler, per Rapoport, who adds (Twitter link) the Patriots have not had discussions with the Saints — well, at least on the Butler front — or the cornerback and won’t until he signs his RFA tender.

Butler is a restricted free agent on whom the Patriots placed a first-round tender worth $3.91MM. The Saints are reportedly “enamored” with Butler, according to Michael Giardi of CSNNE.com, who also notes the sides have the parameters of a deal mostly in place. Guaranteed money’s an issue, per Giardi.

A Saints offer sheet that the Patriots don’t match would result in New Orleans’ No. 11 overall pick going to New England. Of course, Butler could sign his $3.91MM tender, and the teams could discuss a different exchange. Sending a pick that high for a 27-year-old talent might be a bit extreme, with Butler wanting top-10 cornerback money, but the Saints are serious about upgrading one of the league’s worst defenses as they showed with the Brandin Cooks trade. They acquired the Pats’ No. 32 overall pick for Cooks, who won’t turn 24 until September.

Butler has until June 15 to sign the RFA tender, which the Patriots can withdraw on that date and pay Butler 110 percent of his 2016 salary ($600K). The former UDFA visited New Orleans last week.

The Saints endured a rough 2016 at cornerback, with key cogs going down with injuries. They have Delvin Breaux, who will make just $619K in the final season of his three-year deal, along with P.J. Williams tentatively slated as their top corners. Both missed extensive time due to injuries last season. Breaux and Butler both played well in full-season breakouts in 2015, but Butler continued that pace last year while the 27-year-old Breaux played in only six games.

AFC Notes: Revis, Garoppolo, Lynch

March 19th, 2017 at 11:06am CST by Rory Parks

Criminal charges were dropped against free agent cornerback Darrelle Revis earlier this week, which ostensibly opens the door for him to find a new employer soon. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe reports that one league executive believes a Revis reunion with the Patriots is the only thing that makes sense, and while he would likely not serve as a starting corner in New England, he could be used as a strong safety or as cornerback depth. Interestingly, though, Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald tweets that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told Revis several years ago that Revis’ skill-set did not translate to the safety position. While that does not preclude a New England reunion, it does add an interesting twist to the Revis saga, as many have taken it for granted that Revis will wind up playing safety for whoever signs him in 2017.

Now for more from the AFC:

As Volin notes in the same piece cited above, the Patriots’ apparent desire to trade Malcolm Butler is reflective of the team’s usual philosophy of getting rid of a player a year too soon instead of a year too late. However, the Pats have notably departed from that philosophy with respect to Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the club has been reticent to trade despite the haul of picks they could acquire in return. Volin says the Patriots’ stance with Garoppolo is simply based on the fact that he plays quarterback, and they believe that if something were to happen to Tom Brady, they could still compete for a title with Garoppolo under center. The team took a similar approach in 2014, when they held onto Ryan Mallett throughout training camp and did not deal him until they were confident that Garoppolo could handle the backup role.
Some Patriots fans are wondering why the club is willing to trade Butler but handed Stephon Gilmore a mega-deal this offseason. As Dan Hatman of The Scouting Academy (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) notes, Gilmore is simply bigger than Butler, and his size and length can create more flexibility for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia when matching up against some of the game’s bigger receivers. Simply put, Gilmore is a premium man corner, and those players get paid.
Despite the Morris Claiborne signing, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com still expects the Jets to select a cornerback in the first or second round of this year’s draft.
Saturday night, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, retired running back Marshawn Lynch retweeted a message in which someone noticed that a musical playlist put together by Lynch contains a track entitled “Oakland Raiders.” The playlist was created in September 2015, but Florio believes the fact that Lynch went ahead and retweeted the message further legitimizes the Lynch-to-Raiders rumors.
Meanwhile, new Raiders acquisition Cordarrelle Patterson is actively recruiting free agent running back and former Vikings teammate Adrian Peterson to join him in Oakland, as Ben Goessling of ESPN.com writes. However, the latest reports about a Peterson/Oakland match suggest that Peterson has more interest in the Raiders than the Raiders have in him at the moment.
Sean Spence agreed to a deal with the Colts earlier today, and Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com tweets that Spence’s former team, the Titans, could use newly-acquired Jonathan Cyprien, a strong safety by trade, to fill Spence’s role as nickel linebacker.

FA Rumors: Butler, Poe, Z. Brown, Raiders

March 16th, 2017 at 6:32pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler didn’t emerge from his Saints visit on Thursday with a deal, but the meeting “went well,” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). As of now, there remains motivation on both sides to hammer out an agreement, Rapoport adds. PFR’s Zach Links laid out a few potential scenarios earlier this week involving Butler, who would surely net the Patriots a quality return in a trade.

More free agency-related news:

The offer that defensive tackle Dontari Poe accepted from the Falcons on Thursday was worth less than the Jaguars’ proposal, reports ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). Before taking a one-year, $8MM deal (plus incentives) with the reigning NFC champions, Poe turned down the Jags’ fully guaranteed $9MM (and incentives). Head coach Dan Quinn was key in talking Poe into joining the Falcons, relays Anderson.
It doesn’t appear that linebacker Zach Brown‘s powwow with the Raiders will lead to a deal, as a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan that it “looks like a no-go right now” (Twitter link). Although Brown had a stellar 2016 with Buffalo and currently ranks as PFR’s top available linebacker, the market for his services has been tepid.
Wide receiver Andre Holmes met with the Bills on Thursday, one day after there were reports that he had signed with them, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (via Twitter). It turns out the Bills offered Holmes a three-year, $4.5MM accord, which the NFLPA accidentally documented as a done deal.
Linebacker Dekoda Watson visited the Seahawks on Thursday, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. The 29-year-old Watson is a journeyman who has played for five teams, including the Broncos last season. He served as an integral special teams cog in Denver, which would like to re-sign him.

Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler

March 16th, 2017 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are hosting Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler on his visit today and there is “momentum toward finalizing a deal before he leaves,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent who has been assigned the first-round tender.

As I detailed earlier this week, there are a few potential outcomes that sprout come from the Saints’ interest. The seemingly obvious scenario of the Saints actually signing Butler to an offer sheet is probably the most unlikely of the bunch. Butler is an excellent player, but it would be surprising to see the Saints give him top cornerback money and sacrifice the No. 11 overall pick.

If Patriots coach Bill Belichick is willing to play ball (and, perhaps, circumvent the collective bargaining agreement a bit in the process), the two sides could hammer out a trade in which the Patriots sign-and-trade Butler to New Orleans. A potential deal could see the Patriots recoup the No. 32 overall pick they shipped to the Saints in the Brandin Cooks trade. That, more or less, would result in a swap of Butler and Cooks with the Saints also climbing up from No. 118 overall to No. 103.

Of course, the Patriots could also change course and get serious about a multi-year deal to keep Butler tied down and happy. With a duo of Stephon Gilmore and Butler, the Pats would have one of the best cornerback pairs in the NFL.

Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler

March 14th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints and Malcolm Butler have begun negotiations on a new contract and hope to strike a deal this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. From there, the Saints will discuss the parameters of a trade with the Patriots.

Butler won’t be meeting with New Orleans until later this week, but the two sides are already discussing a potential deal. From here, there are a number of different potential outcomes:

The Saints sign Butler to an offer sheet and risk losing their No. 11 overall pick to New England. This scenario, I feel, is unlikely. Butler has previously pushed for top ten cornerback money and the Saints would be borderline crazy to give up such a valuable pick in addition to that type of contract. Butler could potentially agree to a lesser deal, but he’ll only bend so far and the Saints won’t end up with him if the deal is team-friendly enough for New England to match.
The Saints hammer out contract terms with Butler, then work out a less-costly trade with the Patriots. The Patriots and Saints obviously have a good rapport as evidenced by the Brandin Cooks deal. The Patriots can afford to lose Butler after adding Stephon Gilmore and they could be inclined to negotiate if they believe New Orleans will not sacrifice the No. 11 pick. A good middle-ground option here might see the Patriots get back their own No. 32 overall pick. Then, in essence, the two sides will have swapped Cooks for Butler with the Saints moving up from No. 118 overall to No. 103. In this scenario, to circumvent the rules of restricted free agency, the Patriots would “sign-and-trade” Butler to New Orleans.
The Patriots refuse to agree to a trade and the Saints refuse to part with the No. 11 overall pick. This would result in Butler continuing his (restricted) free agency tour. If he can’t find a team willing to cough up a first-round choice for the right to sign him and the Pats do not give him a multi-year extension, he’ll only have one option: play out 2017 with the Patriots on the one-year, $3.91MM first-round tender. Butler is reportedly not entertaining any sort of holdout, so his contractual drama would be put on pause until March 2018.

Saints To Meet With Patriots’ Malcolm Butler

March 14th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler will be visiting the Saints on Thursday, coach Sean Payton tells Brett Martel of The Associated Press (on Twitter). This will be Butler’s first free agent visit.

Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent and the Patriots reserve the right to match any signed offer sheet. If the Patriots decline to match an offer sheet, Butler will join that new team and the Patriots will receive that club’s 2017 first-round pick.

After signing Stephon Gilmore in free agency, that’s a concession the Patriots might be willing to make. The Pats are already down a pick thanks to the Brandin Cooks deal completed with New Orleans last week, so this could be their opportunity to get back into the first round. In the Cooks deal, the Pats received the No. 118 overall selection while pick Nos. 32 and 103 went to New Orleans.

RFA rules dictate that the Patriots would receive the No. 11 overall pick from New Orleans, not their own No. 32, if the Saints were to sign Butler away. It’s possible that this could be the starting point for a sign-and-trade type of deal. The Patriots could agree to a deal with Butler, then trade him to New Orleans for lesser compensation. Sign-and-trade deals are not often seen in the NFL, but neither are salary dump trades and that barrier was broken recently by the Browns and Texans in the Brock Osweiler deal.

The Patriots could also play hardball and refuse to take anything less than the No. 11 pick from the Saints. If that happens, Butler will probably continue to meet with interested clubs, some of whom may be willing to sacrifice a first founder. The worst case scenario for New England is that they retain the rights to one of the league’s better cornerbacks in Butler. Reportedly, Butler isn’t thrilled with New England right now, but he is not going to hold out under any circumstances.

Latest On Patriots, Malcolm Butler

March 13th, 2017 at 1:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Malcolm Butler is less than thrilled about the Patriots’ decision to give a big money contract to fellow cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Now, as he sits in restricted free agency limbo, he is willing to jump at a fair market offer sheet, a source tells Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.

As an RFA, Butler can sign an offer sheet with another team until April 21, giving the Patriots five days to match. If the Patriots decline to match, they’ll acquire the signing club’s 2017 first round pick. It’s an outcome the Patriots would reportedly be okay with and that makes sense given the depth of this year’s cornerback class.

Last year, the Pats offered Butler an extension worth $6-7MM per season, a source tells Howe. That would have given Butler a big pay bump, but it was still below his market value and didn’t bring him close to the top-10 CB salary he was seeking. In 2016, Aqib Talib and Sean Smith were tied for the 10th highest average annual value amongst cornerbacks at $9.5MM/year. The Patriots also told Butler they wouldn’t give that kind of money to any cornerback. After Gilmore got a five-year, $65MM deal, Butler is peeved at the Patriots’ front office.

Despite Butler’s hurt feelings, the source tells Howe that he understands he could still remain with the Patriots. He has no plans to hold out if he remains with the club under the terms of the $3.91MM tender.

Latest On Malcolm Butler, Patriots

March 12th, 2017 at 10:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Malcolm Butler is informing teams he wants a Stephon Gilmore-level deal, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). The RFA cornerback’s agent is contacting teams trying to find one willing to fork over a first-round pick for his client, per La Canfora (via Twitter), although this shouldn’t be deemed as especially unusual.

However, Butler might not be happy with his currently employer after the Patriots signed the Bills’ previous No. 1 corner to a lucrative contract. The fourth-year player’s camp, per Michael Giardi of CSNNE.com (Twitter link), is “extremely frustrated” by the Patriots’ current position and their decision to add Gilmore on a big deal.

La Canfora adds the Patriots would likely be OK with another team signing Butler to an offer sheet and collecting a first-round pick by refusing to match. They sent their 2017 first-rounder to the Saints for Brandin Cooks and moved their second-round choice in a deal for Kony Ealy during an action-packed Friday for the franchise.

This gels with what a report earlier today indicating the Pats and Butler’s opinions of what an extension would cost to keep him differ. Gilmore signed for five years and $65MM — which is quite a bit of a commitment for a team that doesn’t usually sign other teams’ UFAs to lavish long-term deals — while Butler is attached to a first-round tender ($3.91MM) he’s yet to sign.

No trade can occur until Butler signs his tender, but a trade commencing between the Patriots and a team willing to give Butler a big contract is more likely than a scenario where a team signs the 27-year-old former UDFA to an offer sheet and New England doesn’t match, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). Butler and his agent are free to try and create a trade/subsequent new contract, Volin notes (Twitter link).

The Patriots may not be especially keen on employing two corners on eight-figure-AAV deals considering their recent actions involving impending high-end UFAs. New England traded Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins, watching those talents’ second NFL teams retain them at steep prices. The Patriots have only two defenders making more than $5MM per year, and both play in the secondary — Gilmore and Devin McCourty ($9MM-plus AAV). This further points to a potential path out of New England for Butler. The Pats and Dont’a Hightower also remain engaged in discussions on a deal that would make the linebacker a third highly paid New England defender.

But for now, Butler is tethered to the defending Super Bowl champions. The Patriots can withdraw their tender offer to Butler on June 15 and pay him 110 percent of his 2016 salary ($600K), so there will be some movement in this looming impasse by then.